Today I thought that I would give you a recap of the stories we shared with you this week, just in case you missed something.   We have so much to pray for and rejoice in the Lord over.  Please share this with your friends and family who care about the persecution of Christians around the world.

Monday we shared with you a devotion called He Actually Chooses Affliction, a story coming out of Laos and the persecution happening there, and and Persecution Podcast 103 where we focused on prayer for Laos, Pakistan and Azerbiajan.

Tuesday was Valentines Day so we shared with you a letter from Tom White about Asia Bibi, a little history about Valentines Day in our post Valentinus Beheaded in Rome, and
and about a revival happening in Egypt.

Wednesday we shared some news from Pakistan and a new blasphemy charge for Dildar Youcaf , we asked you to help us write 416 more letters to Gao, who is still in prison and we gave you more information on the blasphemy charges from our friends at Mission Network News, concerning Dildar Youcaf.

Thursday we shared some praise coming out of China because of our Bibles Unbound program, as well as some news about a few priests who were abused and released from prison in South Sudan, and a video report from CBN News about the 200 Christians who died in fire in Honduras.

Thank you for reading our blog and for caring about the needs of Christians worldwide.  I pray the Lord blesses you, as you remember that we are bound with them!

Pakistan (MNN) ― Things are only getting worse for another Christian charged with blasphemy in Pakistan.

Dildar Yousaf, 28, was arrested and charged with blasphemy after defending his 8-year-old nephew from a group of Muslim boys last June, according to Voice of the Martyrs.

Dildar's nephew, Ehtasham, was taunted by a group of boys as he passed an Islamic school. As Ehtasham walked by the "madrassa," seven boys gathered around him and tried to force him to become a Muslim. When Ehtasham refused, the boys began to scream and beat him.

 Dildar, happened to pass by, pulled his nephew away from the boys, took him home, and went about his work for the day. That afternoon, the news spread that Dildar had disgraced the Muslim proclamation of faith.

Police picked up Dildar from his workplace and put him in protective custody. They also filed a blasphemy charge against him under Pakistani law 298A, which carries the lightest sentence for blasphemers.

Months later, Dildar remains in prison, awaiting a sentence. His wife and two children have now been forced to flee because of ongoing threats. Ehtasham and his family have also had to leave their village. VOM is supporting the family and providing legal assistance to Dildar.

Dildar's village has a history of persecution, VOM reports. Pray for Christians in the area to remain bold. Pray that despite ongoing trials, Dildar would remain safe and faithful to the Lord.

To learn about others willing to take a stand for Christ in places dangerous to do so, visit persecution.com.

Source: Mission Network News

Last week we encouraged you to take a few minutes and write Gao who has been suffering for Christ in prison for over 200 days.  I'm happy to share that another 276 letters were written to Gao, just last week!!  Amazing!  You all wrote more letters last week than in the previous few weeks before that.  Thank you so much!!

We've still got 416 letters to go before we reach 5000 letters written to Gao.  Will you write a letter today if you haven't done so yet?  Even more so, will you spread the word about Gao and get your friends, your pastor, your teacher, or your neighbor to write a letter also... it takes under 5 minutes to do this.

Please   click here to write your letter.   Please also share about Gao with your circle of influence on Facebook, Twitter and in your church and work environment.  Let's show Gao we stand with him in 2012.

You can also learn more about Gao's past and the torture he has endured, and may still possibly be enduring, by visiting FREE GAO and sign the petition.

Click here to write you letter now!  Thank you.

Dildar Yousaf, 28, was arrested and charged with blasphemy after defending his 8-year-old nephew from a group of Muslim boys on June 10, 2011. That morning, Dildar’s nephew, Ehtasham, was taunted by a group of boys as he passed the madrassa on his way to the market. A madrassa is a school where Islamic students study the Quran.

As Ehtasham walked by the madrassa, seven boys gathered around him and tried to force him to become a Muslim by repeating the phrase, “There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet.” Ehtasham refused, and the boys began to scream at him and beat him.

Ehtasham’s uncle, Dildar, happened to pass by at that moment. Dildar pulled his nephew away from the boys and took him back home. Dildar then went on to his job. That afternoon, the news spread that Dildar had disgraced the Muslim proclamation of faith; the news was repeated from one mosque loudspeaker to another. Soon Muslim crowds began to shout, “Kill him! Death for the blasphemer!”

Police picked up Dildar from his workplace and put him in protective custody. They also filed a blasphemy charge against him under Pakistani law 298A, which carries the lightest sentence for blasphemers. (Pakistani Christian Asia Bibi, who was charged with blasphemy under 298C, was sentenced to death. Her case is on appeal.)

Dildar remains in prison as his case progresses through the justice system. His blasphemy charge carries a potential three-year sentence, with the possibility of parole. Dildar’s wife, Naseem, and two children have had to leave their home and move in with her family in another village because of ongoing threats. Ehtasham and his family have also had to leave their village. VOM is supporting the family and providing legal assistance to Dildar.

Dildar’s village has a history of persecution. In the past, a Christian’s house was burned, a pastor was killed, and believer Ayub Masih was charged with blasphemy. “Muslims have always looked down on us,” Ayub told VOM workers. “We cannot send our children to school, and we cannot feed our animals because we cannot go into the fields. We live under the fear that anything can happen any time.”

Source: The Voice of the Martyrs

Today is Valentine's Day and I bet you that the last thing you thought of this morning was a Christian martyr being beheaded but the reality is that's the tradition of how Valentine's Day began.

According to tradition, the true story of Valentinus,is about a courageous Christian man who lived in third century Rome.

He performed secret marriage ceremonies in the woods, going against the Roman emperor's edicts. As his arrest unfolds, he is dragged before the emperor who is furious not only at the weddings, but also because Valentinus refuses to worship Roman gods. For these crimes, Valentinus is sentenced to death. Valentinus proclaims Jesus is God's Son and invites the emperor to believe in Him and be saved.

If you'd like to buy this wonderful book, please click here.

Also, just so you can see some other coverage, History.com offers this perspective on what happened.

Today I would like to thank the editors at Newsweek and Ayaan Hirsi Ali for doing a cover story on the plight of Christians. 

Ayaan has done a stellar job of discussing some of the reasons why persecuted Christians do not get the coverage they should and also lays out a history of recent persecution of Christians worldwide.    I commend the piece to you.  Click here to read it in its entirety.

Here's an excerpt:

We hear so often about Muslims as victims of abuse in the West and combatants in the Arab Spring’s fight against tyranny. But, in fact, a wholly different kind of war is underway—an unrecognized battle costing thousands of lives. Christians are being killed in the Islamic world because of their religion. It is a rising genocide that ought to provoke global alarm.

The portrayal of Muslims as victims or heroes is at best partially accurate. In recent years the violent oppression of Christian minorities has become the norm in Muslim-majority nations stretching from West Africa and the Middle East to South Asia and Oceania. In some countries it is governments and their agents that have burned churches and imprisoned parishioners. In others, rebel groups and vigilantes have taken matters into their own hands, murdering Christians and driving them from regions where their roots go back centuries.

Click here to keep reading and please thank Newsweek for the coverage.

As you read today's devotion from the book Extreme Devotion, I pray that you will feel the courage of the woman you're reading about.  It is amazing her heavenly perspective under the threat of her death for believing in Jesus.  Do you have that type of courage?

It was almost midnight as the women prisoners heard the Communist guards arrive. They quickly gathered around the condemned, a young woman of twenty who had been sentenced to die for her faith in Christ. They whispered hurried good-byes. There were no tears from the young Romanian woman, no screams for mercy.

    Earlier that evening, the prisoners had listened to the young woman, her face glowing with love. “For me, this grave is the doorway to a heavenly city,” she had told them. “Who can tell the beauty of that city? There, sadness is not known. There is only joy and song. Everyone is dressed in the white of purity. We can see God face-to-face. There are such joys that human language cannot express. Why should I weep? Why should I be sad?”
    

She was engaged to be married, but this night, she told them, instead of being with her earthly fiancé, she would meet her heavenly bridegroom.

    The pitiless guards entered the cell, and the woman stepped toward them, ready to go. As she left the cell, surrounded by guards, she began to recite the Apostles’ Creed. Minutes later, with tears streaming down their faces, the remaining prisoners heard shots. The executioners thought they had ended the young woman’s life, but they had only sent her to live forever in a much better place.

Courage is the bridge that carries us from a nominal existence on earth to an inexplicable longing for a heavenly future. Those who fully understand the certainty of heaven’s existence find it easier to exchange their comparably paltry lives on earth for eternal citizenship in heaven. Courage helps us to let go of all we cling to on earth—all the things that make us long to stay here. It takes courage to believe in a life after death. After all, life on earth is all we really know until the moment we die. We are courageous when we launch out in faith, believing Christ has made it possible for us to cross into eternity with him. Once we have made that firm decision, we can face life with purpose and death with courage.

Source: Extreme Devotion

I am heartbroken over the continual persecution happening to Christians in Nigeria. Here is the latest news coming from Mission Network News. Please pray for Nigeria and spread the word about what is happening with Christians in Nigeria.

Nigeria (MNN) — Five more people are dead as Boko Haram continues its spread of terror across northern Nigeria. Churches have been attacked, Christians murdered, and now even Muslims are being targeted. Mostly those who are trying to protect Christians, or are sympathetic to them.

The most recent attack came when the Boko Haram Islamic Sect on Monday night invaded the Nigerian Air Force, NAF, barracks as well as a police station in Maiduguri, Borno State, killing five people including a soldier, two policemen and two civilians.

It's a quest to force the region into Sharia law

Africa Director for Christian Aid Mission Rae Burnett says missionaries they're supporting are reaching the unreached in these areas, but she's concerned that openness will end. "The fear is that the villagers will get word of this and be afraid to allow the Christian missionaries in. They've seen and appreciated the love of the Christians to be helpful to them. If Boko Haram gets word of it, they'll chase them out."

Up until just recently Boko Haram had been focusing on terror in major cities. But, that's changing, says Burnett. "Some of the villages in the north

This would destroy the work Christian Aid Mission has been able to do. It's already affected some of their partners. "Several of the missionaries have had to leave their fields because of the threats. Of course, these Boko Haram people have relatives everywhere. And if one of them is in one of these villages, then it can cause these missionaries trouble."

Christian Aid Mission supports national Christians who are focused on reaching the unreached. Burnett says, "Nigeria is the most populated country in Africa, and there are many, many areas that have not been reached with the Gospel. The ministry that we have, primarily, helped has been so successful."

Burnett says, "They came into being to reach one particular tribe, and they've grown. Now they're reaching 14 tribes. Most of them are in the north, which has been extremely closed to the Gospel."

Christian Aid Mission supports Nigerian believers who have a plan to reach the unreached with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Your financial support can help keep them work in these areas while the doors are still open.

Source: Mission Network News

I am so excited to share with you an effort to keep Pastor Youcef in the international spotlight.  The Christian Post is reporting the following today, please share it with your friends and let's tweet!

In an effort to ensure the court case of Iranian Pastor Youcef Nadarkhani stay in the international spotlight, the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) has taken to the social media platform Twitter to maintain public awareness for Nadarkhani's plight.

The ACLJ is sponsoring the "Tweet for Youcef" campaign. The Twitter application would allow the ACLJ to send a daily tweet regarding Youcef Nadarkhani via another user's account.

The tweet would entail the number of days Nadarkhani has been imprisoned, facts about his court case, and a link back to the ACLJ's Nadarkhani information page. The tweet would end in "Via OfficialACLJ."

This is just one way human rights watchdogs are attempting to keep Nadarkhani's case in the public eye. Other organizations, including The Voice of the Martyrs USA, offers those following Nadarkhani's case the opportunity to write to him, offering him words of encouragement.

"The good news is that he has really stood firm in his faith, and the other good news is that the world is still paying attention," Todd Nettleton, Director of Media Development at The Voice of the Martyrs, previously told The Christian Post.

Read the Full Article Here

Increasing violence in Nigeria has only strengthened local Christians’ faith, even sparking a revival at the Deeper Life Bible Church in Gombe, where nine Christians were martyred in a Jan. 5 attack on the church. During a funeral service on Jan. 19 for those killed, many believers rededicated their lives to Christ, and others came to faith in Christ for the first time, according to a VOM worker.

Weeping and singing on their knees, a choir led about 500 attendees and 50 pastors in worship. The martyrs’ relatives and other dignitaries — including the deputy governor speaking on behalf of the state’s governor — spoke about each murdered Christian. The four-hour service then moved on to intercessory prayer for the church in Nigeria, the nation at large, Muslims in Nigeria and the Muslim extremist group Boko Haram.

“The leader of the prayers based most of the prayers from the book of Isaiah 61:1–4, among other scriptures, which strengthen and encourage the Church. He encouraged the Church to be more prayerful than complaining,” said the VOM worker. “He said the Lord knows how to fight his own battle in his own way, and we should not revenge whatsoever.”

On Jan. 5, Godwin Odoh, a 36-year-old teacher, was leading prayers at a weekly meeting called “The Hour of Revival.” When the church came under attack, Godwin was shot in the head, chest and legs and died instantly. Eight other attendees were also killed, including children as young as 10 years old and a pastor’s wife.

Ten days later, 72-year-old Yahaya Wuro Buntu, a pastor at Deeper Life Bible Church, was brutally murdered by a group of men who came to his house asking about the Christian faith. Yahaya was often sought out by Muslims to discuss Christianity, so he welcomed the men into his home. The men subdued him, took him to an uncompleted building near his house and killed him, according to a VOM worker. His life was celebrated during the Jan. 19 memorial service for the nine Christians killed during the church attack.

Ever since Boko Haram published an ultimatum on Jan. 3, 2012, threatening violence if Christians did not leave northern Nigeria, the extremist group has claimed responsibility for the murders of at least 44 Christians. On Jan. 22, Muslim extremists and members of Boko Haram attacked a church in Bauchi state, killing at least seven more Christians.

Ayo Oritsejafor, head of the Christian Association of Nigeria, told Compass Direct News that Christian leaders have decided to find a way to defend themselves against the senseless killings. “We have the legitimate right to defend ourselves,” Oritsejafor said. “We will do whatever it takes.”

Sources: VOM contacts, Compass Direct News